I popped along to the fully air-conditioned InterContinental Sydney on a warm day, there to enjoy a promotion they’re running until the 31st January, 2012 called A Flavour of Moscow. It's all to celebrate their newly opened InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya.

Despite having me at caviar blinis, they whisked me up to the very exciting 31st floor balcony of the Club Lounge for Moscow Mules and a beautifully presented platter of Russian canapés.

You can enjoy the same star treatment by staying in a Club guest room or suite, (from $480 per night) during summer. If you’re er… champagne taste, beer budget like me, the Cortile Lounge is doing two-for-one From Russia With Love for $25 between 5pm and 7pm.

You’ll also find most of the dishes – pork pelmeni, borscht and bitochki with wagyu beef – appear on the buffet in Café Opera...

Buffet. The mere word seems to fill most Sydneysiders with horror. I guess growing up here; the word did become synonymous with Sizzler.

If that’s out of your reach, this is Sydney’s best attempt to reach for those lofty heights.

First stop seafood, and whilst the Midweek Buffet ($65/head) certainly contains a good selection, an eye-catching but underwhelming spanner crab makes the Friday/Saturday ($95/head) additions of lobster and a chocolate fountain tempting.

If you’re on the corporate account, head for a Brian Croser/Jacques Bollinger joint project, the 2001 Tapanappa ‘Tiers’ ($165/bottle) and you’ll forget everything. It goes nicely with cold cuts, as you ponder groovy overhead LED chandeliers. It’s a pal to Pepe Saya, Aussie butter king, on a range of lovely bread.

You’ll like it with the carvery, or any of the constantly restocked and tempting tajines. This venue gets the simple things right – temperature, presentation, cleanliness and speed.

Staff are so attentive they remove plates before you even feel guilty about waste, allowing you to cake, cheese and pudding yourself into oblivion.